Yes, I'm still writing : ) alright so this is a little holiday gift from me to my loyal readers who have been reading since the very beginning... i know this chapter is short, but actually this is only Part 1 of this huge chapter that i have written... and bunching this and the next chapter together would be like eating snails with chocolate. not very tasty... i don't own anything EXCEPT Vasiliev... that being said, here is Part One of "The Escape" Enjoy!
Lara re-entered the nightclub cautiously, fully knowing that by now, Vasiliev knew she had escaped. The backdoor that led to the DJ booth was left open for fresh air to linger into the humid building. Lara drew her gun, and while glancing around, crept in through the unguarded door.
The atmosphere inside was unaffected by the pervious outbreak. Strobe lights flashed rhythmically to the music and heat from the other dancers seeped into her skin. Lara lowered her weapon as she eased into the crowd. Every few seconds she would glance back making sure she wasn't being followed. Making her way towards the back of the building, she gazed at the bar and to her surprise, Alex West wasn't there. Bastard must have awoken. She saw the narrow corridor that led back to where she first arrived 4 hours ago. Guarding that corridor was a heavyset bearded man. She approached him from his left, flashing a seductive smile. "Hey there, wanna dance?" He didn't have time to react when Lara swiftly raised her arm and slammed the side of the gun into his face. The unexpected blow fractured his nose and he instinctively threw his hands up towards his head. Lara quickly connected her foot to his gut and he stumbled backwards, tumbling down the small flight of stairs.
She looked around and entered the dim corridor, stepping over the unconscious body. The halls were dimly lit, and as Lara hurried through the corridors she began to feel like a mouse in a labyrinth.
Suddenly, voices echoed down the hall, and Lara swerved into one of the smaller rooms. She ducked inside and quietly closed the door hoping that the men outside didn't see her. She pressed her ear against the cold metal door, and listened for passing footsteps.
"She ran into the alley about five minutes ago sir, she couldn't have gotten too far." Lara heard a snarl and then the bellowing voice of Vasiliev.
"Where is Alex? Bring him to me." The frightened man turned briskly and started to walk away, but as he turned, Vasiliev grabbed his arm. "She's useless now, if you see her- kill her."
Kurtis stood in the alley, still stunned that Lara was alive. After he had seen Winston's body shredded in the kitchen, a fraction of his conscience believed that by the time he would reach Lara, she would be dead. He stood there, mentally arguing with himself. What could be so important to her that she needed to go back in and risk her life again? His blood boiled, you're an idiot Trent, a goddamn idiot. You couldn't just yank her onto the bike and get her someplace where you know she'd be safe. He looked down noticing the drops of blood on the ground and guilt filled his body. A goddamn idiot.
Vasiliev passed the small cubic room that Lara was hiding in. She sucked in a deep breath and opened the door cautiously. The long hallway was now empty and Lara took the opportunity to head straight for Vasiliev's office. There were barely any men patrolling the corridor itself, so Lara's route was quick and swift. She turned into the large rectangular office and took in her surroundings. The room, more like a bunker, was quite large. A bulky wooden desk and a metal safe occupied a corner of the room. She stepped behind the worktable and started shifting through papers and photographs. Then, something caught her attention. She lifted the stack of papers to find an enhanced photo of the artifact that had caused this whole night to deteriorate, The Jade Key. She set her pistol down on the desk and crouched down to take a closer look at the safe. Half inch solid steel door, steel locking bolts, combination lock- well this should be fun. A tiny irresistible smile crept up on Lara's lips. She had done this hundreds of times before- museums, estates, homes, but never with the thought of knowing she was going to die unless she opened that godforsaken metal cube. Lara tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and pressed it close to the safe. Slowly turning the knob to the right, she heard several soft clicks and then a much louder one. She let out a suppressed sigh, and then began to turn the knob to the left.
"Miss. Croft- you'd think that you'd want to be as far away as possible from this little hell hole." Vasiliev stood at the door, leaning on the frame with his arms crossed. The expression on his face lingered with amusement.
Lara's eyes darted from the safe to the gun that lay on the desk. In an action that blurred the vision, the gun was in her hand and pointed directly as him. "Unlock it!" she yelled. She was surprised and yet frightened to see him, the adrenalin pumped harder as every second passed. "I said unlock it!" She fired off one shot to the right of his head. "Open it or I swear to god I'll put a fucking bullet in your head!" She couldn't control her anger; this wasn't her. Lara moved away from the desk, and with the gun still pointed at Vasiliev, she maneuvered towards him.
"You really must think too high of me if you thought I would just hand it over. What's the fun in that?" The smile that spread across his lips disgusted Lara. Throughout this little 'get together', his tone had been freakishly calm. It was as if he knew she would come back.
"Open it!" she pressed the gun to his left shoulder, and narrowed her eyes into thin slits. "You must think too kindly of me to think I wouldn't kill you." He softly chuckled, and the anger swept over Lara like a tsunami. The gun swiftly pointed down toward the floor and pain seared into Vasiliev's foot. He let out a sudden loud grunt and his breathing became heavier. "The next one's in your head." Gritting her teeth, she looked into his dark brown eyes.
Vasiliev released a another deafening snarl caused by the bullet in his foot, and started to limp his way toward the safe. Slowly and cautiously he crouched down and began to turn the black knob. Thirty-four… Twelve… Fifty-one… The small steel door hissed open. Inside lay two tiny bottles of black liquid and a silver semi-automatic. Lara stood near the doorway with the handgun still aimed at Vasiliev. He took out just one of the bottles and set it on the desk. The semi-automatic handgun now occupied his other hand. He suddenly roared and thrust his body upward. As quickly as Vasiliev had aimed the weapon and fired, Lara was just as quick to get out of the way. As Lara hit the hard floor she fired off two rounds in Vasiliev's direction. He ducked for cover, and Lara lunged towards the table grabbing the tiny glass vile. She rushed back towards the door and began sprinting down the narrow hallway.
"Fucking bitch!" Vasiliev gritted his teeth as he stood up. He shuffled to the doorframe and angled his gun at Lara's distancing body.
One, two, three shots echoed behind her. She screeched to a stop just around the corner that faced into the main dancehall. Jerking her hand up, she let her index finger squeeze the trigger.
Behind her, a guard stepped out into the hallway just as Lara was about to dash out and blend into the heated crowd. The gun was leveled at another being once again. However, instead of a roaring gunshot, the only sound that filled Lara's ears was the sound of the pistols' magazine clicking. Shit. She bolted and raced down the corridor, jumping over the guard she had subdued earlier.
Once she had slipped into the hypnotized crowd, she looked around. The backstage door was still open and Lara headed straight for it. Suddenly, people were screaming and yelling. Everyone pushed against each other trying to get out of the packed nightclub. That was when Lara heard the suppressed sound of gunshots. She hauled herself up onto the stage and ran towards the open door. The cold air outside greeted her with small specks of snow softly landing on her face. She could see Kurtis and his motorcycle parked on the other side of the alley. From this distance, she thought he looked so worried. He was pacing around the bike and kept checking his watch for the time. Reality hit Lara hard in the face when she remembered the dangerous men that were fallowing her.
Kurtis heard soft thudding footsteps approach him, and he instinctively grabbed the pistol from his shoulder hostler.
"Kurtis…start-" a whisper surfaced from the silent alley. "Kurtis…start…now!" he turned his body to the source of the whisper. "Kurtis, dammit, start the bike!" In the middle of the sentence, Lara appeared from the whisper.
"Jeez Lara, you scared the shit out of me." He holstered the gun and couldn't help but stare at her beautiful brown eyes.
"I didn't know I had that effect on you." She flashed a wide grin. "Look, they're still after me so let's continue this little 'chat' later shall we?"
"Here-" he took off his leather jacket and handed it to her. It was practically snowing outside and all she was wearing was a red corset and a skimpy denim skirt. She took it without a second thought. As she slid her arms into the warm jacket, she could still feel Kurtis' body heat absorbed in it. She hated to admit it, but at that moment she couldn't think of anything more blissful than being held in his powerful arms and to forget everything around her. A loud banging sound interrupted her thoughts. Kurtis and Lara could hear shouts coming from across the street. They both pounced onto the bike and let it rip through the silent alley.
Alright, so what'd ya think? Review Review REVIEW! i don't know if this is any good if i don't get reviews : ) Thank you for everything and have an AWESOME HOLIDAY, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (if i'm not able to update sooner... pretty sure i will though : )